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York City Post Office set to close Saturday

The new post office will open Monday morning.

By Sean Adkins

Daily Record/Sunday News

Updated:
06/28/2013 08:36:05 AM EDT

Vast unused space is part of the reason the post office on the 200 block of South George Street is moving. This office will be open until 1 p.m. this Saturday, and will open Monday at its new location at 160 W. Market St. (DAILY RECORD/SUNDAY NEWS - KATE PENN)

"This new office will open Monday morning," he said. "That's for sure."

On Saturday, the 102-year-old post office at 200 S. George St. will close and workers will spend the rest of the weekend shuttling forms, registers, floor safes, mail from post office boxes and office equipment to the new location at 160 W. Market St., Becker said.

Sandwiched between Chinatown Express and the Junior League of York Thrift Shop, the new office measures 3,600 square feet - a fraction of the size of its historic counterpart.

The shift to email and electronic bill paying has caused the volume of mail to fall, Becker said.

"Post offices across the nation are trying to reduce their footprints," he said. "The new office is all the space we need."

But, that wasn't always the case.

"When I started in 1989, mail volume was increasing," Becker said. "This place was packed. Now, only have three employees, at least downtown."

In the past, the what will soon become the form York City Post Office was more than just a hub for area mail.

In the lobby, not far from a still functioning pay phone, former Congressman Bill Goodling once occupied an office.

A large, mostly empty space, sits behind the lobby that once functioned as an area in which carriers would pick up their mail.

The basement, which once seconded as fallout shelter, is a maze of rooms and hallways.

One lower level area, now used for storage, once served as a shooting range for the office's postal police force, Becker said. "This place is built like Fort Knox," he said.

What will become of the iconic, 65,000 square foot downtown landmark?

In 2012, Themi Sacarellos, a local real estate investor, said his bid to buy the building had been selected.

That information has never been confirmed by the post office.

Attempts to reach Sacarellos Thursday were unsuccessful.

Raymond Daiutolo, a regional spokesman for the agency, said the buyer will be made public once the sale is complete.

The building is under contract to be sold in July, he said.

"We don't reveal details, including buyer identities, of ongoing transactions," Daiutolo said. "Once the deal closes, the buyer's information will be a matter of public record, because it will be identified in the deed."

Becker, a York County native, said he hopes the former post office remains a strong part of York.

"This is an iconic building in downtown," he said. "I just hope the new owner has vision that adds value to the city."